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New Zealand man pleads not guilty to federal porn, kidnapping charges; trial date set

Posted at 5:42 PM, Feb 19, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-19 17:47:25-05

RICHMOND, Va. – A New Zealand man pleaded not guilty Tuesday inside a federal courthouse in Richmond to the production of child pornography and kidnapping charges.

Troy George Skinner, 25, was arrested in June 2018 after he flew to Virginia to meet — in person — a teenage girl with whom he met using the Discord chat service. After three or four months of conversation, the girl attempted to end their communication, deputies said.

The 14-year-old girl’s mother shot Skinner when he attempted to break into the family’s Goochland home. Investigators say he was carrying a knife, duct tape, and pepper spray — that he purchased at the Short Pump Walmart — when he arrived at the family’s home.

Skinner requested a trial by jury and his attorney requested additional time to prepare for trial.

The Judge granted the motion, and set a date for a five-day trial beginning September 16 inside the United States District Court Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond.

According to allegations in the indictment, Skinner knowingly used the Goochland minor to produce two videos of child pornography and two image files of child pornography.

The acts occurred on four separate dates in February and March 2018, according to the indictment.

The indictment further alleges that Skinner confined the minor victim, and “attempted to seize, confine, and kidnap the minor victim for ransom or another reason.”

If convicted of producing child pornography, Skinner faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison on each count. If convicted of the kidnapping/attempted kidnapping, he faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum of life.

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